The History of Us

Winter of 1289

"Good morning," Aland said, after Sweden reluctantly left his room.

"Morning." Sweden headed towards the kitchen, prepared to have at least a glass of almond milk. He smiled when he found some leftover bread.

"You should probably eat more than that," Aland said, as he tended to the fire.

Sweden decided to ignore him and eat his bread. Despite the snow outside, it was somewhat warm inside.

Sweden enjoyed the company. That was the primary reason he had Finland and Aland. Finland didn't offer much in terms of companionship, considering that he rarely talked. When he did decide to speak up, it was usually to complain. However, Sweden was almost always able to decipher Finland's silent responses. Overall, they got along fine.

With Aland, it was different. He was talkative and friendly. Aland was aggressively sweet. When Finland went to him to complain that the neighbors were too loud in the morning, Aland quickly shut them up. And when Sweden got a cold, Aland didn't hesitate to do all of his chores for him.

"I was thinking I could try and trade some wheat for eggs today," Aland said from his place in front of the fire.

Sweden looked up hopefully. Although he knew it was unlikely, he still got his hopes up. The Little Ice Age had made food harder to come by. Sweden, Aland, and Finland survived off of whatever was cheap and could be easily stored.

During the summer, Sweden and Aland had harvested as many grains as they could to last the winter. While they were outside working, Finland stayed inside doing chores. Sweden suspected that he chose to work indoors to both avoid the sunlight and drink all the ale he could get his hands on.

"I would like that," Sweden responded. He finished his bread and walked over to the window to watch the sun rise. Aland abandoned his spot in front of the fire to join him.

The mornings were Sweden's favorite part of the day. Finland was a lazy person by nature, so he was never up before the sun. Sweden wasn't exactly a morning person either, but he liked having a portion of his day to spend doing whatever he wanted. Plus, Aland woke up around the same time, so he was never alone with his thoughts.

"My sister is coming over today, so I plan on waiting for her. I don't want her to stop by when only Finland is around," Sweden said. Finland's obsession with his sister had not gone unnoticed, and it deeply irritated him.

"I bet he'll bring out his prettiest knife when she gets here," Aland said, smiling.

"Gross, why would you even say that?" Sweden asked, to Aland's amusement.

"Have you asked her why she's coming over?" Aland insinuated.

"I figured she just wanted to catch up?" Sweden said approximately one second before he realised what Aland was implying.

"I was just wondering," Aland said as innocently. It was obvious to Sweden that he was barely holding back a smile.

Their conversation ended, mostly because Sweden refused to even entertain the idea that his sister was visiting because she wanted to see Finland, not him. As the sun crept higher in the sky, Aland had gotten dressed and headed out for the day. Sweden needed to occupy his time somehow, so he started by tidying up his house. He was well aware that the things he was doing were the things that he should be making his colonies do, but he didn't mind. Cleaning his house kept him occupied and cleared his mind.

Around noon, his sister arrived. Her thick winter coat draped loosely over her frame, yet her cheeks were still red from the cold. Her cheeks were thinner than he last remembered and Sweden was sure that her coat had been more form fitting the last time he'd seen her wearing it. Clearly, the Little Ice Age had taken its toll on her.

She took off her coat and handed it over to Sweden. He took it outside to shake the snow off it, and when he came back in, he found her rummaging through his pantry.

"Do you want lunch?" Sweden offered.

"Thanks, but you probably need it more than I do," she responded.

"I haven't lost much weight, and my people need the food more than me. I'll live. Besides, I have colonies to feed," Sweden said, pulling out leftover soup. Without even having to ask, his sister began to chop vegetables to add to it.

"I'm just saying, you need to take care of yourself," she said, as she ate a slice of raw carrot.

"Don't eat that raw, you'll get sick," Sweden scolded, "Besides, you have lost quite a bit of weight yourself."

To Sweden's disappointment, Finland decided to make an appearance. He quietly emerged from his room and lurked in the hallway. Sweden was content to ignore him, but his sister immediately welcomed Finland to have lunch with them.

"You might as well just go back to your room, it'll be awhile before the soup heats up," Sweden said as a last ditch effort to get Finland to leave.

Finland shook his head and shrugged in a gesture that Sweden interpreted to mean that he was willing to wait with them. Sweden's sister said, "No, stay and talk with us."

And so, Finland had joined the conversation. His sister seemed to be able to understand Finland as easily as him or Aland. Finland didn't say a single word during the entire conversation, yet he still managed to stay a part of it, and even added in his own thoughts. Sweden watched as his sister nodded along to a story that Finland appeared to be telling. Finland quietly gestured with his knife and she laughed.

"Soups done," Sweden announced, eager to interrupt their version of a conversation.

"You should really start talking to Finland's sister," Sweden's sister said after Sweden had put three bowls of soup on the table.

"Why would I ever do that," Sweden asked.

"To stop the rumors," his sister said.

"What rumors?" Sweden asked.

His sister looked up in surprise, "You haven't heard?"

Finland snickered and shared a look with his sister. Sweden narrowed his eyes. He sometimes felt like he was one step behind everyone else. It was even worse now that the two of them knew something that he didn't.

"What rumors?" Sweden repeated. He had a bad feeling about this.

"That you're gay," she explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? Who says that? I'm not." It was times like these that made Sweden feel as though he was constantly under attack by the people around him.

"Come on, you live with two guys," she reasoned.

"But you live with two girls!" Sweden said.

His sister shrugged and took a bite of her soup, "Everyone knows my preferences."

Finland waved his spoon emphatically at Sweden's sister, and she nodded.

"What?" Sweden asked, annoyed.

"Nothing," she said and turned to give Finland a look. Finland had the audacity to look over at Sweden and laugh.

"Alright, it's time for you to go," Sweden said.

She smiled, "I'll visit you again next week."

"I'll hold you to it," Sweden said.

She hugged him and then turned to Finland. She whispered something in his ear and she kissed his cheek. She must have sensed Sweden's eyes on her, because she turned to roll her eyes at him.

"Tell Aland I said hi," she said over her shoulder. Sweden and Finland watched as she left.

"Well, it's just us until Aland gets back," Sweden muttered as soon as his sister was out of earshot.

Finland gave Sweden a look that Sweden assumed was supposed to be meaningful. Finland wandered off, probably on the search for some alcohol.

By the time Aland got back, Sweden had already started on dinner. Aland set a bag down on the table and came over to look at what Sweden was cooking.

"I haven't seen Finland in hours, so maybe if we're quiet we won't have to share with him," Sweden whispered.

Aland grinned and pressed a finger against his lips in agreement. He whispered, "Guess what I got?"

"What?"

Aland went over to the bag and pulled out a half dozen eggs. He grinned and presented them with a flourish.

"How?" Sweden asked. He knew there was no way anyone in their right mind would trade six eggs for some wheat.

"Because I didn't exactly give him a choice," Aland said, smiling sweetly.

"That's just a little suspect," Sweden admitted.

"One thing," Aland said, "hide the eggs from Finland."